LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
- Lithuania turns away 1 irregular migrant on border with Belarus
- Evacuated Lithuanians' flight from Jordan delayed due to plane repairs – official
- Lithuania's State Defense Council to discuss military infrastructure, security situation
- EU defense firms to get building permit decisions within 60 days – Kubilius
- Evacuated Lithuanians' flight delayed in Jordan due to late flight clearance after repairs
- Ukraine won't be invited to join NATO in The Hague – Lithuanian FM
- Lithuanian FM vows to review communication after Israel evacuation criticism
- Lithuania's energy supply unaffected by Israel-Iran conflict – market players
- More Lithuanian language lessons for minority primary schools in Vilnius from 2026
- Lithuanian Airports to assess Latvia's Air Baltic share offer – PM (corrects)
- Lithuanian president expects MPs to take up new military training area law this fall
- Lithuania plans to acquire Brazilian military transport aircraft (expands)
- This year's Zapad exercise will be some three times smaller than in 2021 – Nauseda
- Ukraine's membership prospects must be mentioned at NATO summit – Nauseda
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, June 19, 2025
Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 18, 2025
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 18, 2025:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to chair a meeting of the State Defense Council at 2 p.m.; to provide comment to the press with Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene at 4 p.m.
PRIME MINISTER Gintautas Paluckas to attend a meeting of the State Defense Council at 2 p.m.;
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Lithuania turns away 1 irregular migrant on border with Belarus
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have turned away one migrant attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally over the past 24 hours, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Wednesday morning.
Latvia reported 47 illegal border crossing attempts on Tuesday. Poland denied entry to 236 irregular migrants on Monday, according to the latest available information.
Lithuania has barred 867 irregular migrants from entering from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year, after turning away 1,002 in 2024
The influx of irregular migrants into the EU's eastern member states from Belarus began in 2021 and is blamed by the West on the Minsk regime.
By Augustas Stankevičius
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Evacuated Lithuanians' flight from Jordan delayed due to plane repairs – official
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – The flight of Lithuanian citizens evacuated from Israel has been delayed in Jordan due to minor repairs on the chartered aircraft, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center (NCMC), said on Wednesday morning.
"The delay is due to minor repairs on the aircraft, specifically the replacement of a component of the front windshield," he told the public broadcaster LRT.
The plane is now expected to depart at 12:30 p.m.
"The crew is already on site, which is worth noting, because crew availability is often the biggest challenge in situations like this," the official added.
This is the second time the flight to Vilnius has been postponed.
The flight is operated by Chapman Freeborn, a charter company owned by the aviation business group Avia Solutions Group, controlled by businessman Gediminas Ziemelis.
Around 100 people, mostly Lithuanian citizens, are expected to board the flight to Vilnius.
The passengers crossed the Israeli–Jordanian border on Tuesday afternoon. They were forced to leave Israel due to the military conflict between the Jewish state and Iran, which has seen the two countries exchange fire for nearly a week.
The evacuation flight from Jordan to Lithuania is expected to cost around 200,000 euros. Three-quarters of the cost is expected to be covered by the European Union through the Civil Protection Mechanism, with the remainder paid by the Lithuanian government.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Tuesday that Lithuanian citizens would not be required to pay for the evacuation.
Meanwhile, Lithuania's ambassador to Israel, Audrius Bruzga, said that as the situation in the region worsens, more Lithuanians may want to leave Israel, but no additional evacuation flights are planned for now.
"If we see a larger number of people wanting to leave, other decisions will likely be made. But new options are emerging. (...) The borders are open, and people can make their own way to Jordan or Egypt. Of course, that might take longer," the diplomat told the public broadcaster.
"There's probably no need for a full-scale evacuation for now," he added.
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Lithuania's State Defense Council to discuss military infrastructure, security situation
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lithuania's State Defense Council will meet at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday to discuss regional security and the development of military infrastructure, Frederikas Jansonas, an adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, told BNS.
The meeting comes a week before the NATO summit in The Hague.
With the United States pressing allies to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense, diplomats say NATO countries will seek a deal in The Hague to split the target: 3.5 percent of GDP for "hard" military spending and another 1.5 percent for related needs.
Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene has told BNS that Lithuania is in favor of allocating the full 5 percent of GDP to hard defense.
Lithuania plans to raise its defense spending to 5.25 percent of GDP next year, up from over 4 percent this year.
The president-chaired council last met in April, when it agreed to aim for about 20,000 military personnel in the Lithuanian Armed Forces by 2038.
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EU defense firms to get building permit decisions within 60 days – Kubilius
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – A 60-day deadline for reviewing requests for building permits from defense industry companies will be set across the European Union, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said on Tuesday.
"A uniform rule is set for all EU countries: once a defense industry company applies for a building permit, a decision – whether approval or denial – must be issued within 60 days," Kubilius told reporters while presenting the European Commission's Defense Readiness Omnibus, a package of simplification measures for defense.
“If there's no response, neither yes nor no, that silence will be understood as consent for the construction to go ahead," he added.
Kubilius said this change will require intense effort from governments and other permit-issuing authorities, so the proposal also includes establishing a single point of contact in each country.
"Another key proposal is that every country creates a single point of contact," the Lithuanian commissioner said.
"This is to ensure that the defense industry knows where to apply and isn't sent from one office to another. There should be one place staffed by state-appointed officials who handle all permit issues within those 60 days," he explained.
Kubilius noted that any disputes arising from the shortened permit deadline should be prioritized and handled under an accelerated procedure in courts.
Access to bank financing for defense companies is also expected to improve.
"Until now, there have been various odd provisions that treated the defense industry as not meeting so-called ESG (environmental, social and governance) criteria. Because of this, the defense industry, especially smaller companies, often faced reluctance from banks," Kubilius said.
"Now we clearly state that the defense industry meets such criteria and its activities actually bring much benefit to sustainability if peace is guaranteed," he added.
The Commission said in a press release that these changes "aim to improve Europe's ability to act quickly, coordinate more effectively, and ensure its defense industry can deliver at speed and scale".
Europe is ramping up its defense efforts in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and amid calls from US President Donald Trump for Europe to take greater responsibility for its own security.
The Commission's White Paper for European Defense-Readiness 2030, unveiled in March, outlines solutions for closing critical capability gaps and building a robust industrial defense base. It proposes ways for member states to increase defense investments, procure defense systems and enhance Europe's defense industry readiness in the long term.
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Evacuated Lithuanians' flight delayed in Jordan due to late flight clearance after repairs
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – The flight from Jordan carrying Lithuanians evacuated from Israel was delayed by another three hours after a technical issue was found on the aircraft on Tuesday evening and flight clearance took longer than expected following repairs.
This was confirmed to BNS by Vilma Vaitiekunaite, CEO of Skyllence, the company handling private flights at Vilnius Airport.
Vaitiekunaite said the plane was repaired late Tuesday evening, but approval from the Civil Aviation Administration to carry passengers took longer than expected.
"(The airline) expected to receive clearance much earlier in the morning, but only got it around 6 a.m. Lithuanian time. They were planning to take off for their first flight at that time, because the plane had another passenger flight before ours," she said.
The CEO said the plane is currently scheduled to depart for Vilnius at 4:30 p.m.
Before flying the Lithuanians home, the aircraft must first complete a flight from Amman to Cyprus and then return to Aqaba, Jordan, she said.
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center (NCMC), said earlier that the flight of evacuated Lithuanian citizens had been delayed in Jordan due to minor repairs on the chartered aircraft.
"The delay is due to minor repairs on the aircraft, specifically the replacement of a component of the front windshield," he told the public broadcaster LRT.
The flight is operated by Chapman Freeborn, a charter company owned by the aviation business group Avia Solutions Group, controlled by businessman Gediminas Ziemelis.
Around 100 people, mostly Lithuanian citizens, are expected to board the flight to Vilnius.
The passengers crossed the Israeli–Jordanian border on Tuesday afternoon. They were forced to leave Israel due to the military conflict between the Jewish state and Iran, which has seen the two countries exchange fire for nearly a week.
The evacuation flight from Jordan to Lithuania is expected to cost around 200,000 euros. Three-quarters of the cost is expected to be covered by the European Union through the Civil Protection Mechanism, with the remainder paid by the Lithuanian government.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Tuesday that Lithuanian citizens would not be required to pay for the evacuation.
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Ukraine won't be invited to join NATO in The Hague – Lithuanian FM
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS - Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join NATO at next week's NATO summit in The Hague, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys says.
"This issue is certainly not on the NATO agenda and nobody has formulated an expectation that there will be an invitation in The Hague, nor have we heard that from the Ukrainians themselves. There is no such expectation that there will be breakthrough decisions, neither before the Washington summit nor now before the Hague summit, it is not on the agenda," Lithuania's top diplomat told journalists on Wednesday.
He stressed the importance of maintaining the focus on Ukraine at the meeting and stressing that NATO countries and Kyiv are in the same security area.
Speaking ahead of a joint closed session of the Seimas Committees on National Security and Defense and Foreign Affairs to discuss preparations for the NATO summit, Budrys said that Lithuania would emphasize the unity of the Alliance and the importance of the US role in the collective deterrence and defense policy, as well as focus on Ukraine and the issue of Russia's direct threat.
The summit in the Netherlands is being watched by the international community, among other things, for the posture that the Alliance will take on Ukraine's possible NATO membership following the change of the US administration.
In 2008, NATO stated that Ukraine would eventually join the bloc. In 2023, the NATO summit agreed on the wording that an invitation to Ukraine to join would be extended once the member states agreed on it and Kyiv fulfilled the conditions set.
Some political observers say this NATO commitment could change as US President Donald Trump, who took office in January, pressures Ukraine and Russia to negotiate a peace deal, and Moscow raises the issue of Kyiv's NATO membership as a condition for a ceasefire.
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Lithuanian FM vows to review communication after Israel evacuation criticism
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys says his ministry will review its communication with citizens being evacuated from Israel after some of them criticized the ministry for a lack of information and a chaotic evacuation process.
"We'll have to look into (...) who failed to do what in which situations. When the situation settles a bit, we will certainly do interviews and deconstruct the different situations and evaluate what we needed to do additionally," the minister told reporters on Wednesday.
Budrys says he's pleased that people have been successfully moved to a safe country. They arrived in Jordan from Israel on Tuesday afternoon. Their flight was scheduled on the same day, but was postponed several times, and now they scheduled to fly out of Jordan on Wednesday night.
Vilma Vaitiekunaite, CEO of Skyllence, a company operating private flights at Vilnius Airport, told BNS that this situation was due to the fact that the plane had to undergo repairs, which took longer than planned, and the flight was not cleared in time.
Budrys says he's also been criticized by fellow foreign ministers saying that the evacuation creates uncomfortable situations and pressure as some countries are of the opinion that if there is a possibility to travel and the borders are not closed, citizens should leave Israel on their own.
"Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands have not taken any action to help their own citizens. And that naturally raises the question from those countries whether we are not creating certain tensions here because they then have additional questions," the minister said.
He also points out that Lithuania is not taking steps to move diplomats out of Israel, but if they want to leave, conditions are created for them to do so.
By Paulius Perminas
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Lithuania's energy supply unaffected by Israel-Iran conflict – market players
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – The conflict between Israel and Iran in the Middle East, a key region for global energy markets, has not disrupted Lithuania's supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or oil, according to market participants.
However, experts caution that a prolonged conflict could drive up energy prices, especially if it affects shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas exports from Arab countries.
Mindaugas Navikas, chief commercial officer at KN Energies, Lithuania's state-controlled LNG and energy infrastructure company, said operations at the Klaipeda LNG terminal have not been disrupted, as terminal users have diversified their gas supply sources.
He noted that most of the gas delivered to Klaipeda comes not from the Arabian Peninsula but from the United States and Norway.
Orlen Lietuva, Lithuania's oil import and refining company owned by Poland's energy giant Orlen, also said it sources crude oil from more than one supplier.
Darek Lysko, head of gas trading and operations at electricity and gas supplier Ignitis, said the conflict is unlikely to have a short-term impact on Lithuanian consumers, though global disruptions could push gas prices higher.
He said Lithuania, like the rest of the Baltic states and Europe, purchases natural gas in advance and imports only up to five percent of its LNG directly from the Middle East.
Navikas added that if the military conflict drags on or escalates, the LNG market – particularly in Asia – could face supply disruptions that would lead to price fluctuations, which could also affect Lithuanian consumers.
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More Lithuanian language lessons for minority primary schools in Vilnius from 2026
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS - The Vilnius City Municipality has set a target for national minority schools to introduce at least six weekly hours of Lithuanian language lessons in primary education from next school year.
"In order to achieve the goals of the education system and basically create a society where both the Lithuanian language is well learned and other exams are passed better, (...) in Vilnius we have decided to set a target of at least six weekly Lithuanian language and literature lessons for national minority schools with primary classes," Vilnius Vice Mayor Vytautas Mitalas told journalists on Wednesday.
In his words, primary school pupils in national minority schools now have four or five Lithuanian language and literature lessons, while in Lithuanian-language schools children have seven or eight.
"The difference is programmed, then it moves to the next year and the next grade. And then, naturally, the command of the Lithuanian language becomes worse and it is more difficult to catch up for those pupils who did not make sufficient progress in the primary grades," Mitalas said.
According to the municipality, the changes were initiated after taking into account the results of the 2020-2024 state matriculation exams for Vilnius pupils.
The principals of national minority schools are now being consulted on this issue and the municipality is ready to provide all the necessary assistance, Mitalas added.
For her part, Vilnius Vice Mayor Donalda Meizelyte says that a bilingual education method was used in five kindergarten groups for a year, and the results show an improved command of the Lithuanian language. The experiment will be continued and its results will be monitored, she added.
By Karolina Ambrazaitytė
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Lithuanian Airports to assess Latvia's Air Baltic share offer – PM (corrects)
(corrects the headline)
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports, LTOU) will assess the Latvian government's proposal to buy a stake in the national airline Air Baltic, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Wednesday.
"The offer needs to be reviewed by a company or institution with the appropriate expertise. LTOU is looking into the proposal and will continue to do so before issuing its conclusion on whether or not it is worth pursuing," he told BNS in a comment.
LTOU spokesman Tadas Vasiliauskas told BNS on Wednesday that the state-owned company had not yet received any formal offer regarding Air Baltic shares.
Transport Minister Eugenijus Sabutis, whose ministry is the sole shareholder of LTOU, told BNS that Lithuania is waiting for an official offer and concrete terms from the Latvian government before making any decision on whether to invest in the airline.
The Latvian Transport Ministry announced on Wednesday that, ahead of Air Baltic's planned initial public offering (IPO) later this year, it will send official offers to potential investors in Lithuania and Estonia – governments and airports – inviting them to take part in the Latvian airline's capital alongside the Lufthansa Group.
Last November, Sabutis, who was a candidate for transport minister at the time, told BNS in an interview that he was ruling out the possibility of Lithuania acquiring a stake in Air Baltic.
Marius Skuodis, Sabutis' predecessor, said in January 2024 that Lithuania was considering buying a stake in the Latvian carrier. At the time, he said that discussions were underway about potential deal terms, including basing some of the airline's planes in Lithuania.
By Giedrius Gaidamavičius
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Lithuanian president expects MPs to take up new military training area law this fall
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expects the parliament to start work on a special law for a new brigade-size military training area during its fall session.
"In order to launch the process quickly, we need a proper legal framework that will let us handle all land‑formation procedures smoothly and in line with the law," Nauseda told reporters after Wednesday's meeting of the State Defense Council.
"That requires a special law on the training area, and I expect the process to start in the fall session and finish quickly," he added.
The president-chaired State Defense Council also tasked the Defense Ministry with submitting proposals in the near future on the creation of the new training area, including a projected timeline.
Nauseda's office said in a press release that the council reviewed progress on setting up infrastructure for military training.
"A new training area suitable for a brigade-size military unit is necessary for exercises involving both Lithuanian and allied troops," it said.
A few months ago, the military identified areas that would be most suitable from a defense perspective for new training grounds.
Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene has told BNS that the Environment Ministry is currently finalizing proposals for realistic locations, taking into account the mix of state and private land as well as other restrictions.
The ministry is expected to present its conclusions on Friday.
"Once we receive those specific options, we hope to be able to visually assess the sites within a few weeks so that we can make a final decision on the location as quickly as possible," Sakaliene said last week.
Lithuania is looking for a site for a new brigade-sized military training area amid the growing presence of allied troops in the country, an increasing number of conscripts and reservists, and new military equipment purchases.
Preliminary information shows the preferred location is in eastern or southern Lithuania so that it would be "as close as possible to the territories of unfriendly states."
Authorities are seeking an area of 20,000 hectares, which would make it the largest training area in Lithuania.
Last fall, the parliament gave the green light to set up new military training areas in the western districts of Taurage and Silale, but these will be smaller and will be used only for maneuvering.
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Lithuania plans to acquire Brazilian military transport aircraft (expands)
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS - Lithuania plans to acquire three military transport aircraft made by the Brazilian company Embraer, Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Wednesday after a meeting of the State Defense Council.
"The Defense Ministry will join the negotiations on the acquisition of a new generation of military transport aircraft," she told journalists. "We need to have at least three military transport aircraft, and negotiations would be conducted for such a quantity."
The plan is to acquire Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft, she added.
These aircraft will complement the Lithuanian Armed Forces' aviation fleet, which consists mainly of several helicopters and three Spartan transport planes. The latter have been in service for more than 15 years.
"The current capabilities are inadequate, and the current situation, where we have to deal with the evacuation of citizens, demonstrates once again why the availability of modern, new-generation military transport aircraft is indispensable for the country," the minister pointed out.
According to Sakaliene, the C-390 aircraft were selected as they meet the operational requirements formulated by the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and also the ecological and economic parameters of the aircraft, and the delivery deadlines have been taken into account.
These aircraft can also perform mid-air refueling, a function that Spartan does not have.
"The need we have expressed is that the situation calls for very quick solutions, and if the negotiations are successful and we can have the first aircraft within three years, (...) that would be a fantastic result," the defense minister said without disclosing the possible acquisition price.
"We won't know the price until the end of the negotiations, and we have only now taken the decision to join the negotiations. The preliminary analysis (...) shows that in terms of price it would be the best option we could get," Sakaliene said.
Right now, Lithuania uses Spartan aircraft for troop and cargo transport, training flights, airborne operations, medical evacuation, transport of VIPs and other special tasks.
President Gitanas Nauseda says he's pleased that the new aircraft will be used by the army and will be used for evacuation operations such as those currently being carried out to transport Lithuanians from Israel.
"The Spartan is an aircraft that has advantages and disadvantages, and probably from 2030 e won't be able to operate it at all the way it is now, so this development is quite natural and timely and we are focusing on such aircraft as the demand for them has been growing geometrically lately," Nauseda said.
According to the Defense Ministry, Portugal and the Netherlands have already acquired C-390 aircraft and are planning to acquire more of them, and Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Sweden also have plans to acquire them.
By Augustas Stankevičius, Vilmantas Venckūnas
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This year's Zapad exercise will be some three times smaller than in 2021 – Nauseda
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – The scale of the upcoming Zapad military exercise this year will be two or three times smaller than it was in 2021, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says.
"“The scale of the exercise itself, for obvious reasons, because of Russia's involvement in the war with Ukraine and the deployment of a large amount of equipment and manpower to the frontline, the exercise will be two or three times smaller in terms of quantitative criteria than it was in 2021,” the president told reporters after a meeting of the State Defense Council on Wednesday.
Although the Zapad exercise, its organization and nature are not exceptional, Lithuania and its allies are prepared for any kind of surprises, the president said.
For her part, Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that both national and allied exercises would be held simultaneously in Lithuania.
"We want to make it very clear that intensive and active work with a large number of allies and our troops will take place throughout this period, which greatly simplifies any preparation for possible scenarios in case of any changes," the minister said.
Zapad 2021 was one of the largest Russian-Belarusian exercises in recent years, with around 200,000 troops participating. It was stated at the time that the active phase of Zapad 2021 took place at nine training area in Russia and five areas in Belarus.
The Zapad military exercise is due to take place in September and has been held every two years since 2009, except for in 2023. British intelligence cited Russia's shortage of troops and equipment, as well as the Kremlin's unwillingness to face criticism for holding yet another show of force during the war in Ukraine, as likely reasons for the cancellation.
Russia has limited ability to attack Lithuania during the upcoming Zapad military exercise, but nobody can guess the actions of hostile states because it is not clear whether they are following logic, the Lithuanian Armed Forces has said. It also indicated that the active phase of the exercise would last for about one week in mid-September, with redeployments and other related actions possible between August and October.
The officially stated objectives are to practice joint defensive and offensive operations, improve cooperation between the armed forces and test troops' readiness for various security scenarios.
However, the drills always raise concerns among officials in neighboring countries about the risk of unintentional incidents.
In practice, the army stressed, the aim of these exercises is to demonstrate power to the West.
As BNS reported earlier, Belarus announced in late May that it would reduce the scale of this exercise with Russia by shortening the list of participating troops and moving them further away from its western borders.
Lithuanian Chief of Defense Raimundas Vaiksnoras has previously said that the Belarusian announcement could be a bluff.
The army has indicated that the official reduction of the number of troops taking part in the Belarusian exercise from 13,000 to 7,000 is not an official reduction. It "can mean something or nothing".
By Paulius Perminas, Vilmantas Venckūnas
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Ukraine's membership prospects must be mentioned at NATO summit – Nauseda
VILNIUS, Jun 18, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says the final declaration of next week's NATO summit in The Hague must mention Ukraine's prospects for NATO membership.
"I believe that the prospect of Ukraine's membership should be mentioned in the summit's communiqué, I will certainly not argue about the specificity of the wording," the president told journalists on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Ukraine would not be invited to the NATO during the Hague summit, adding, however, that one of Lithuania's tasks is to ensure that Ukraine is mentioned in the joint declaration.
In 2008, NATO stated that Ukraine would eventually join the bloc. In 2023, the NATO summit agreed on the wording that an invitation to Ukraine to join would be extended once the member states agreed on it and Kyiv fulfilled the conditions set.
Ukraine applied to join NATO in September 2022, a few months after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion. The country has not received a formal invitation as the 32 NATO member countries are struggling to reach a consensus on the issue.
The declaration of the 75th NATO Summit that took place in Washington last year states that NATO leaders support Ukraine "on its irreversible path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership".
Some political observers say this NATO commitment could change as US President Donald Trump, who took office in January, pressures Ukraine and Russia to negotiate a peace deal, and Moscow raises the issue of Kyiv's NATO membership as a condition for a ceasefire.
As BNS reported earlier, Ukraine has also been invited to attend the Hague summit on June 24-25 June.
However, Nauseda says that another aspect of the NATO summit is particularly important to him and that is an agreement on increasing defense spending.
"The fact that we in Lithuania are ready (to increase funding - BNS) (...) is only an effort of our state, and we are all well aware of the fact that we need to all the states come together because the development of the defense industry depends on it, the strength of NATO as a collective defense organization depends on it," the president said.
With the United States pressing allies to allocate 5 percent of their GDP to defense, diplomats say that NATO countries will seek to agree on a commitment split it in two, with defense-only funding rising to 3.5 percent of GDP and a further 1.5 percent of GDP earmarked for related needs.
Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene told BNS earlier that Lithuania is in favor of allocating 5 percent of GDP for defense alone.
Lithuania plans to spend 5.25 percent of GDP on defense next year, up from over 4 percent of GDP this year.
By Vilmantas Venckūnas
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, June 19, 2025
VILNIUS, Jun 19, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, June 19, 2025:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to have a phone call with European Council President Antonio Costa at 3.30 p.m.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOR MINISTER Inga Ruginiene to attend an event at the UK Embassy to mark King Charles III's birthday at 5 p.m.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to meet with regional ministers responsible for internal security in Tallinn to discuss border security issues.
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